[geek42]

I recently purchased some used SR-60's, which arrived a couple days ago. I've been listening to PortaPro's for the last few months, directly from my Chaintech AV-710 sound card.

I eagerly ripped the Grado's out of the box, and plugged em in to the sound card (which is on hi-rez mode, fwiw), and was promptly dissapointed. The sound was flat, didn't have the punch i was used to, and the phones sounded generally tinny, and unnappealing. I also had to pretty much max out the volume of the computer to get adequate listening levels.

Out of curiosity, I hooked the sound card to my Denon DRA-275R receiver. Suddenly, I began to hear what so many people like about the grados - punchy mids, decent lows, and better detail all around...

However, I've heard so many people speak about the low quality of receiver's headphone outs that I'm wondering if I'm missing something... My questions are....
Should I be able to power the SR-60's direct off the sound card? Anybody know the quality of the headphone out on my specific receiver? Should I be thinkign about an amp for these headphones? I had thought they would be good for unamped usage, although that seems not to be the case...

Basically, I'm wondering how to get the best sound out of my system. Considering I've got an entry level set of cans, I'm not really interested in putting vast quantities of money into my setup, but something like a CMoy or possibly a Mint would be a possibility for me.

So... anybody have some suggestions? Sorry for the rambling nature of the post.

 

[Jasper994]

Wow! is the Chaintech's output level THAT low?!? My PCDP can power the SR60's well to ridiculous levels... I guess you could/should look at an amp since the Chaintech is supposed to be pretty decent... Otherwise, you could look at a different sound card. The AudioTrak Opto Play works very well with the SR60's... BTW, do the quarter mod on the comfies, it definately sounds better.

 

[geek42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 Wow! is the Chaintech's output level THAT low?!? My PCDP can power the SR60's well to ridiculous levels... I guess you could/should look at an amp since the Chaintech is supposed to be pretty decent... Otherwise, you could look at a different sound card. The AudioTrak Opto Play works very well with the SR60's... BTW, do the quarter mod on the comfies, it definately sounds better.

With my PortaPro's, I had to lower the master volume and the volume in foobar quite a lot, but apperently the SR60's are a different beast...

The cans came with the quarter mod already performed on the comfies... Although in my case it should probably be called the quarterish somewhat odd shaped mod

.

 

[MD1032]

With my TBSCand SR-80's unamped, the main volume stays at minimum and I adjust everything from there. I am using Kernel Streaming right now, so I cimply reduce the foobar volume from 100%. These phones are easily driven.

 

[lcachola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geek42 I eagerly ripped the Grado's out of the box, and plugged em in to the sound card (which is on hi-rez mode, fwiw), and was promptly dissapointed. The sound was flat, didn't have the punch i was used to, and the phones sounded generally tinny, and unnappealing. I also had to pretty much max out the volume of the computer to get adequate listening levels.

Sounds pretty similar to my experience when comparing listening to SR60s with the Chaintech vs. an Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1. Mind you, the Chaintech sounds *better* than a Soundblaster Live 5.1, but sounds tinny and is weak on bass when compared to a higher end Envy chip. The problem is more with the sound card than the Grados. I'd suggest replacing the sound card instead of getting an amp - you can get a used M-Audio Revolution for the price of a low-end amp (about $80).

 

[Earwax]

I'm listening to Senn HD280s off a Chaintech right now and have no problem at all with the volume. Since I finally got the card and drivers setup correcty, I'm ready to retract most of the negative things I've said about the Chaintech in the past.

It actually sounds pretty darn good, still not as good as the Tosh 3950, but better than most portable CDPs. Before I had it set up correctly, it was worse than most portables. Get the current drivers from the Via site and make sure it's all set up correctly, bypassing the windows mixer. ASIO seems a bit flakey, but kernal streaming in fooobar is working well. Also, turn off all other DSPs that can muck up the sound until you're sure it's all running correctly.

From reading the AVSforum site, the Revo is little (if any) better than the Chaintech, if you want a step up, apparently you need to look at the M-Audio Audiophile or a Terratec or the current flavor of the month, the E-MU.

 

[Atomicarnage]

I own both the Sr-60's and the HD-280's and I can tell you that the Hd-280's don't require much power, but the Grado's require even less. I can listen to the 280's at about half volume on my I-pod, but I have to turn it down about 10% to listen to my Grado's. I think you may just have a bum soundcard, or you may need to futz around with the volume controls a bit.

 

[geek42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomicarnage I own both the Sr-60's and the HD-280's and I can tell you that the Hd-280's don't require much power, but the Grado's require even less. I can listen to the 280's at about half volume on my I-pod, but I have to turn it down about 10% to listen to my Grado's. I think you may just have a bum soundcard, or you may need to futz around with the volume controls a bit.

Well, I've done some playing around and I'm thinking it's the sound card... I think the jack for channel 7&8 that gets used for high sample-rate mode is bad - when i jiggle it, the sound cuts in and out.

Additionally, when i move the volume slider, it seems to have the odd effect of also adjusting the balance from far left at the lowest setting to far right at the highest setting. Wierd. Hooked my PortaPro's up and I'm getting the same results with them.

As a side note - ooh, my ears! those grado's just plain hurt after a few hours! I'm listening to the portapros right now - I just couldn't do the grado's any more tonight

 

[skitlets]

bend the headbands!!!!

 

[Permonic]

SR-60's don't benefit from the amp too much. In your case I would rather upgrade the source. And definitely do the mod of your comfies. Do a search about how different earpads affect the Grado sound.

 

[Chinchy]

I second Permonic. Grados aren't don't really benefit from an amp, so what you hear out of your source will just be amplified by the amp. If it sounds bad connected directly, you'll need to upgrade your source.

 

[lcachola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchy I second Permonic. Grados aren't don't really benefit from an amp, so what you hear out of your source will just be amplified by the amp. If it sounds bad connected directly, you'll need to upgrade your source.

More specifically, the Grado SR60s don't benefit much from an amp. Higher end Grados like the SR225 do benefit from an amp. But, yeah, definitely upgrade the source.

 

[TM2 Rampage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geek42 I eagerly ripped the Grado's out of the box, and plugged em in to the sound card (which is on hi-rez mode, fwiw), and was promptly dissapointed. The sound was flat, didn't have the punch i was used to, and the phones sounded generally tinny, and unnappealing. I also had to pretty much max out the volume of the computer to get adequate listening levels.

Burn in, dude. Burn in.

 

[acs236]

I wonder if it's a current issue with the AV710. Lower impedence phones draw more current than higher impedence phones, and I supposed its possible that the the Grados are trying to pull more current than the AV710 can output. Considering all the good things people have said about this card, I'm a tad suprised so many people are recomending an upgrade, especially when you've said you're getting better results out of a receiver. It sounds ask if your recevier headphone out is a better amp than that of the AV710 -- this is not surprising at all.

It sound as if the Grado SR60s do benefit from an amp because you're getting better results listening through your AV710-->Denon. If that is not a permanent solutions, I would look into a low end amp. If you can snag a used CHA47 or META42, that would work nicely.

 

[Mpemba Effect]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TM2 Rampage Burn in, dude. Burn in.

True, when I first put my SR225's on I was pretty shocked on how bad they sounded (and i had a pair of Sennheiser HD497's before). The sound really does change dramatically after a good 100 hours. Just keep them running